Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, pledged to jointly push for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change in a joint statement released here Tuesday.

Xi Jinping arrives in Germany

Xi and Putin also met on Monday where they agreed to further cement bilateral ties and strengthen coordination on the Korean Peninsula and other major issues.

China and Russia are comprehensive strategic partners of coordination, and it is quite important for them to intensify communication and coordination in dealing with major affairs, said Xi, who had a tete-a-tete with Putin in the Kremlin shortly after his arrival in Moscow.

The two sides should strengthen cooperation, and steadfastly support each other in pursuing their own development paths and defending their respective sovereignty, national security and development interests, added the Chinese president.

They also need to step up policy communication and action coordination on major regional and global issues, so as to tackle risks and challenges and promote world peace, stability and prosperity, he added.

Chinese President wraps up Moscow visit with plan to ease DPRK tensions

China and Russia offered a plan to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The proposal – part of a joint statement issued by Beijing and Moscow on Day-two of President Xi’s visit to the Kremlin. CGTN’s Daria Bondarchuk has the details from Moscow.

For his part, Putin said he agrees that the two sides should beef up mutual support and strengthen coordination on major regional and global issues.

It is important to boost head-of-state diplomacy, which leads and promotes the development of bilateral relations, said Putin, adding that Xi’s ongoing state visit, the second of its kind since he took office in 2013, will further boost the two countries’ partnership.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula and Syria issues. They agreed to jointly push for a proper settlement of the peninsula issue via dialogue and negotiation.

As for the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea, Xi and Putin said the move concerns the strategic balance in the region.

China and Russia, they stressed, are both opposed to installing THAAD in South Korea.

GERMANY NEXT STOP

Russia is the first leg of Xi’s ongoing foreign trip, which will also take him to Germany for a state visit and the upcoming summit of the Group of 20 major economies.

In Germany, Xi plans to have in-depth discussions with leaders and strive for greater progress in the already high-level development of bilateral ties.

Xi made the remarks in a signed article titled “To Make the World a Better Place” and published Tuesday on mainstream German media ahead of his trip to the European country, where he will also attend the upcoming summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies.

“An important task of my visit is to have in-depth discussions with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chancellor Angela Merkel and other German leaders on how to seize the opportunities under the new circumstances to advance our comprehensive strategic partnership in a more coordinated manner with a view to elevating China-Germany relationship to a higher level,” Xi wrote.

He proposed that China and Germany should strengthen top-level planning of bilateral relations and draft the blueprint of its future growth with a more open mind and a broader vision.

“We need to let our dialogue mechanisms at different levels play a leading role and enhance strategic communication on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues,” Xi said.

China and Germany need to properly handle differences through equal-footed dialogue and friendly consultation, and “give each other understanding and support on issues concerning our respective core interests and major concerns,” he added.

The Chinese president also proposed to enhance the strategic synergy between “Made in China 2025” and Germany’s “Industry 4.0” with a pioneering, innovative, open and inclusive approach.

He said the two sides need to “foster an investment environment of two-way openness and fair competition, deepen practical cooperation in such fields as innovation, the Internet, smart manufacturing, finance, energy, environmental protection and green development, and expand cooperation in third markets.”

The two countries also need to step up cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and jointly contribute to security, stability and prosperity of countries along the routes, he added.

In the article, Xi pointed out that people-to-people exchanges play an important role in elevating China-Germany relations to a higher level.

“We need to … deepen cooperation in education, culture, science and technology, tourism, health, think tanks, media, football and other fields, implement visa-related and other facilitation measures and bring our two peoples closer to each other,” he said.

The president and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will jointly open a panda garden in Zoo Berlin on Wednesday for the pair of giant pandas China has recently sent to Germany.

Meng Meng and Jiao Qing, the two pandas that arrived in Germany last month, are getting accustomed to their new environment quite fast, according to Yin Hong, a Chinese panda keeper who accompanied the pair all the way from the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu to Berlin.

According to the Chinese president, the two countries also need to step up coordination and cooperation at the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and other international organizations and institutions.

The two sides should “commit ourselves to the betterment of international mechanisms and rules and make due contribution to upholding regional stability and world peace, promoting healthy growth of the world economy and forging a community of shared future for mankind,” Xi noted.

From Tuesday to Saturday, Xi is to pay a state visit to Germany, and then attend the annual G20 summit in Hamburg.

Story by Xinhua

Dmitry Babich on DPRK launch, Xi’s Russia visit

Pyongyang’s latest launch is overshadowing the upcoming G-20 Summit in Germany and key bilateral meetings scheduled on the sidelines. CGTN’s Asieh Namdar discussed expectations for the summit and President Xi’s visit to Russia with Dmitry Babich. He’s a journalist and political analyst with Sputnik International.